After Sandy, A Haven for Lost Photos

It was 20 years ago, but I can still hear it as if it were yesterday — the voice of a friend on the phone as we battened down the hatches for Hurricane Andrew, knowing we were leaving but overwhelmed at choosing what to take and what must stay.

“Grab whatever photos you can,” she said. “Grab the things you can’t replace.”

Here in New Jersey after Hurricane Sandy, every day brings new stories of good news and bad news from towns we love. And in yesterday’s New York Daily News came a heartening tale about reuniting storm survivors with those irreplaceable family photos.

Jeannette Van Houten set up a Facebook page to post more than 3,000 family photos that were found strewn around Union Beach, New Jersey, a small seaside town destroyed by the storm. It’s giving families — many who have lost everything — a chance to reunite with some treasured mementos.